Gold surges above $1,300 as dollar falls to 16-month low

Gold prices surged above $1,300, as gold bugs continued to cheer a speech by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, which failed to include details on monetary policy or balance sheet normalization, narrowing investor expectations of a rate hike later this year.

Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $17.59, or 1.36%, to $1,315.50 a troy ounce.

Gold prices raced to a nearly 10-month high on Monday, buoyed by a sixteen-month slump in the dollar as investor expectations of an additional rate hike continued to fade, following Fed chair Janet Yellen’s decision to sidestep monetary policy in a speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.37% to 92.14.

Gold is sensitive to moves lower in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar – A lower dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency while a dip in U.S. rates, reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.